Caron Carlson

WASHINGTON—Federal regulators on Thursday took the first step on a journey that will likely lead to the end of the traditional public switched-telephone network and the migration of all voice traffic onto IP-based networks. While there may be twists and turns along the way, including detours set by the FBI, the destination points to more […]

At U.S. Bancorp, the monthly bill from one telecommunications supplier is so large that it typically arrives in 12 boxes. That supplier is just one of more than 300 telecom providers serving the bank. Spending roughly $13 million on telecom services each month, the eighth-largest bank in the country found it could no longer manage […]

When you order a pizza from Pizza Hut, your request could go to a store, a call center or the company headquarters if you order online. With customer calls routed all over the country, NPC International Inc., Pizza Huts largest franchisee, wants to have all its 840 sites linked to one another by the end […]

The Department of Homeland Security has launched a National Cyber Alert System to provide information on Internet threats to both the technical community and end users. While major network operators work extensively with the government to mitigate network threats, home users and small businesses are seen as a vulnerability to the nations cyber-infrastructure. The information […]

In the hopes of gaining more control over their infrastructure, more university IT administrators are accelerating plans to migrate to open-source technology in the data center. George Washington University, for one, is in the process of removing Microsoft Corp. technology from its data centers and replacing it with Linux, primarily because of the cost and […]

In the wake of this weeks devastating MyDoom worm attack, the Department of Homeland Security launched a National Cyber Alert System today to provide information on Internet threats to both the technical community and end users. The information will be distributed via e-mail in two ways. First, on an event-driven basis, it will deliver advice […]

While the United States errs on the side of prudence, a new report shows that Asian organizations are moving faster toward the forthcoming IPv6 standard. According to the IPv6 Forum, which evaluates companies for IPv6-compatible products and released its latest findings Jan. 15, Asia has the largest number of companies producing IPv6-compatible products, including NEC […]

Expanding its campaign against open-source software from the courts to Congress, The SCO Group recently issued a warning to Capitol Hill that Linux threatens not only intellectual property rights but also national security. Open-source advocates, however, are cautioning that it would take no more than a small move on the part of Congress—a small change […]

WorldCom Inc., now doing business as MCI, has legal grounds to sue its former chief executive officer, Bernie Ebbers, according to a bankruptcy court report filed on Monday. The company can also go after the accounting firms and investment bankers that provided advice and services to WorldCom as it committed accounting fraud of unprecedented proportions, […]

WASHINGTON—To make it easier for rivals to license its communications protocols, Microsoft Corp. on Friday said it will make several changes to the licensing program, including giving 20 general networking protocols away for free and not requiring developers to visit Redmond, Wash., to evaluate the program. The changes come as a result of continued criticism […]

The federal government may have dropped its proposal to debar WorldCom Inc. from future contracts, but officials in Washington said the accounting- and scandal-laden company is not out of the woods yet. Because of the gravity of WorldComs corporate malfeasance, the U.S. General Services Administration decided it was necessary to enter into a three-year administrative […]

Emerging voice services over the Internet wont be hampered by decades-old telephony rules, if the countrys top telecommunications regulator has his way. As the Federal Communications Commission prepares rules for voice over IP this year, FCC Chairman Michael Powell will fight to ward off new burdens that could stymie innovation. Defining voice over the Internet […]